The incredible shrinking forks or the incredible expanding headset!?

Ok this is a really seriously irritating mystery. I sent my forks and headset to be re-chromed, I got them back and they look great. When I put my bike back together and I screw on the headset the lock ring is now either to big and just falls over the threads like a washer or the threads on the top of my forks have somehow become smaller or shrunk or something? WTF? I tried to put an old lockring I had that used to be on the same headset and it did the same thing? So to me it looks like somehow the fork has gotten smaller? It just sounds completely rediculous, it's like someone is playing an inverse shim joke on me or something?

I called the chromer and had a very polite conversation about it and he was scratching his head as much as me. He said he never even touched the upper half of the forks, except to mask them. I cant ride my F'ing bike now until I sort this out? It seems there is no answer to this? It's just f'ing weird! I suppose I will have to keep trying different lockrings until I find one that fits? Anyone have a decent steel lockring floating around they want to sell or trade for?

Speechless.

strange indeed! sure you had the right forks returned to you? ..only thing I can think of :S

Or, for that matter, the same headset? You had that re-chromed too?

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgee3IGYZsU"]YouTube
- Toyah - It's A Mystery (UK TV)[/ame]

Those inverse shims are pesky little blighters..

So, to clarify, the top cup screws on OK as before rechroming, just the locking ring seems 'different'? That right?

Maybe your headset lockring was damaged during removal? It may have been held on your bike prior to you removing fork in a slightly cross-threaded manner. When you took it off finally it might have destroyed some of the threads making it now seem loose.

Fork shrink can be fatal. I knew someone who had it so bad, within weeks his fork was only good for eating pasta.

Sorry.

So, to clarify, the top cup screws on OK as before rechroming, just the locking ring seems 'different'? That right?
The cup screws on fine, It indeed appears to be just the lock ring.

i think its just a different lockring then. you must have another kicking about the place that looks the same

i think its just a different lockring then. you must have another kicking about the place that looks the same

I dobt there is going to be an answer to this. I only have two lockrings a shitty one and a beat up one. Neither of them fit and they both used to. I took the forks out and threaded the lockring all the way down the threads, about half way down it seemed to catch and tighten up? So... It looks like it's somehow narrowing towards the top. I have been looking really closely at it and I dont see any marks or damage.

This sucks mainly du to the fact that these are the original Zeus track forks that came with this frame, and finding new ones is either near impossible or unbelievably expensive. I JUST WANT TO RIDE MY BIKE!!!!!

When they chrome a fork does it heat up at all? Could that be it? Some kind of warping or something?

What temperature did you wash/rechrome them at?

Just talked to murtle and he thinks that my forks might be french threaded? Definitely a possibility, but it dosen't explain why the same lock ring fit before? I'm off to find a french threaded lock ring to give it a try.

Aren't Italian and English almost the same but not quite? Murt's French suggestion may well be right, I'm just wondering if you could try Italian/English too (whichever of these the lockring isn't).

Guapo I hate headset fiddling I feel you pain. Hope you get it sorted dude.

im looking to re-chrome my head cups and head-set where did you get yours done???

A guy in a shed behind a store in Uxbridge direction. Murtle introduced me to him.

Guess I will have to try find someone closer to home. Cheers anyways.

i have french threaded forks, the only difference is the size of the thread, evrything fits on fine then when you tighten up the nut it starts slipping. i don't understand how everything fits but the lockring?
can you get just a new lockring?

edit- just worked out that the lockring is the topmost bit of the headset. this is the same as my (definately) french forks. you can get french threaded headsets on ebay sometimes, or try ebay.fr?

The cup screws on fine, It indeed appears to be just the lock ring.

What's the odds on both the cup and fork shrinking, and to exactly the same size?

It's either a freak event - one in 1,000,000,000,043 or..

• your locknut is the wrong one
  
• you stripped the locknut threads when removing it
  
• locknut never fitted properly in the first place and was just held on by rust/dirt.
  
• the portion of thread on the steerer that the locknut screws on is worn and now you can't tighten it properly, but the rest of the thread is fine so cup is fine.
  
  

Hard to tell without pics.

What's the odds on both the cup and fork shrinking, and to exactly the same size?

It's either a freak event - one in 1,000,000,000,043 or..

• your locknut is the wrong one
  
• you stripped the locknut threads when removing it
  
• locknut never fitted properly in the first place and was just held on by rust/dirt.
  
• the portion of thread on the steerer that the locknut screws on is worn and now you can't tighten it properly, but the rest of the thread is fine so cup is fine.
  
  

Hard to tell without pics.

Good call, Well I took the offending forks to the Holdsworth shop (really nice and knowledgeable guys by the way) The threads arent french they are English, but the diameter of the steerer tube is definitely just a tiny bit small, I mean a fraction of a mm, but just enough to make for a slightly loose but functional fit. The reason the Lockring isnt fitting is because the very top threads of the steerer tube have been worn down just slightly, fraction of a mm again, so the steerer tube has become just that bit too small and the lockring wont fit.

The reason it was fitting before was, as you said, Definitely due to shitloads of rust and dirt that had built up in the threads.

The guy at the Holdsworth shop suggested I find a good frame builder that would be able to attach a new steerer tube onto my forks. If this is possible I would definitely be interested in checking out this avenue.

If any of you know of a frame builder that might take on a project like this please please let me know I would really like to speak to them about it.

Glad you determined the source of the issue.

Replacing the steering column means rechroming.

A builder could also add brass to the thread area and retap.

A builder could also add brass to the thread area and retap.

Ahhh Brass! I hadnt thought of that. They do that for BBs sometimes too. Maybe Bikefix might know where to get this done?